Acta Shorthanded With His Bench

With the Cleveland Indians struggling since their sweep of the Detroit Tigers, the weaknesses fans have been concerned about all year have started to raise their ugly heads.

The starting pitching has been the main culprit, as in those nine games (the Tribe has gone 2-7 in those contests) only Derek Lowe’s performance against Minnesota in which he pitched 6-2/3 innings and allowed one run, can be considered very good.

The struggles of the starters has forced the Indians to play from behind quite a bit, and with their lack of power, that is not a good situation.

The Tribe is 8-18 in games they haven’t hit a home run. More to the point, they are 20-7 when they do hit one over the wall.

The Twins’ series was a perfect example. Friday night, Lonnie Chisenhall and Jason Kipnis went deep in a Cleveland win. There were no round trippers the rest of the weekend, and the Indians dropped the final two games of the weekend.

And of course, the last problem area to show up again is the problem the Tribe has against southpaws. Scott Diamond started for the Twins Sunday afternoon, and the Cleveland bats took a nap, losing 6-3.

However, the roster construction doesn’t do Manny Acta any favors. Right now, there are two players on the pines who are there because they play a certain position. That is their only qualification for being on the team.

Aaron Cunningham is here because he can play CF if something happened to Michael Brantley, and Juan Diaz is on the roster because he can play shortstop.

GM Chris Antonetti hasn’t been able to develop or acquire a legitimate fourth outfielder or a utility infielder.

That is troublesome because it doesn’t give the skipper a lot of flexibility.

Neither player has shown he can hit, particularly with the limited at bats they receive, and on a team that has difficulties hitting left-handed pitching, that’s tough to digest.

Cunningham can play all three outfield spots, but there has to be someone within the organization that can provide better hitting and has the ability to play centerfield.

The same is true for Diaz at SS, although he is here because the guy whose job he has, Jason Donald, didn’t hit, and is having trouble defensively at short in Columbus.

The problem is Acta cannot have any confidence putting either of these guys in a lineup when needed. And if that’s the case, a change needs to be made.

The same problem is occurring in the bullpen with lefty Tony Sipp. The reliever has done a good job the past few years, but this year is struggling.

He came in Saturday with the team trailing 5-4 to face two left-handed hitters, Ben Revere and Joe Mauer. A single and a home run later, the score was 7-4.

This isn’t to bury Sipp, but he needs to go back to the minors to work on getting back to where he was in 2010 and 2011.

Right now, it is doubtful that Acta can find any situation in which to use him except in a blowout situation.

That’s not fair to the manager.

Most major league managers need a 25 man roster to work with, especially those who pilot small to mid-market teams.

Right now, Manny Acta has a 22 man team because his roster is littered with players like the three mentioned.

Maybe Acta’s the one who wants these guys, but that’s doubtful.

The front office needs to upgrade this roster, and the sooner they do it, the better the Indians can hang in the race to win the AL Central.

Lack of Long Ball Hurts Tribe

In the American League, the home run is king.

A look at the teams who lead the league in dingers closely resembles those who have the best records. Here are the top five teams in hitting the long ball:

Texas (31-19)          76
Baltimore (29-21) 75
New York (26-23) 74
Toronto (26-24)     68
Chicago (28-22)      62

Where do the Cleveland Indians rank in this category? 12th, ahead of only the Royals and Twins, who coincidentally are the two worst teams in the league.

This is just another statistic that doesn’t bode well for the rest of this season. And one of the players who is supposed to provide pop for this offense, Travis Hafner, just went on the disabled list (again!) with a knee injury.

This means the Indians lack the ability to have a big inning with one swing of the bat. In a lineup with several holes in it, this means they are dependent on having to bunch several hits, and that is tough to do consistently.

If you think that home runs aren’t the end all, be all and you getting extra base hits is just as important, here are the AL leaders in team slugging percentage:

Texas (31-19)           .475
Boston (25-24)        .456
New York (26-23) .455
Baltimore (29-21)  .440
Chicago (28-22)      .421

The Tribe ranks 11th in this category at .383, ahead of only Minnesota, Seattle, and Oakland, three teams all at least six games under the .500 mark.

This just reiterates what we’ve known about the American League for years. Yes, pitching dominates in the post-season, but to get there in the AL, you have to score runs.

One of the seasons they can’t score runs is they have no power.

Yes, Progressive Field is a pitcher’s park, and that hampers the offense. And they do have better success hitting on the road. But they still don’t have a guy who can come up with two guys on and put three runs on the board with one swing.

It was striking over the weekend in the series against the White Sox, and yes, they play in a great hitters’ park. Still, they have three players (Paul Konerko, Dayan Viciedo, and Adam Dunn) with more that 10 HR’s, and A. J. Pierzynski has eight.

As a point of reference, that number (8) would be tied for the Indians’ team lead with Jason Kipnis.

And only the now injured Hafner (6) has more than five home runs for Cleveland.

You can’t compete in this league without being able to hit for power, and this has been a theme for the last few years. Last year, the Indians ranked 10th in home runs, and in 2010, they ranked 12th.

They started off 2012 by hitting the long ball, hitting 16 in the first nine games of the season. But, they’ve hit just 25 in the last 40 contests, which over a full season comes to just 100 dingers. That’s a paltry figure in today’s game.

You can overcome not getting the home run if you hit for a high average as a team, somewhere in the .270-.280 range. Alas, the Tribe’s team average is just .248, ranking 10th in the league, right behind the Orioles, who have scored 22 more runs.

To be fair, the Indians’ offense is the best of the non-home run teams. They rank seventh in the AL in average runs per game, and every team they trail has hit 20 more home runs.

You will often notice the Tribe plays many games where they have one big inning, and struggle to put together anything for the balance of the game. That’s because that’s the inning they string a lot of hits together. Manny Acta’s bunch doesn’t have a lot of one run innings, where someone hits a bomb and that’s it.

There is really no way this Indians team is going to start blasting balls all over the park, so they have to come up with ways to overcome it. One way has already been a success, the ability to draw walks.

It’s just a tough way to play the game in the American League.

Don’t Worry About Chicago Series, Worry About This…

Before the baseball season started, we felt the Cleveland Indians were a fourth place team. This was based on the feeling that the offense hasn’t really improved from last season, and the starting pitching was not up to par.

So, our expectations for this season were not really high. As life long Indians fans, we hope to be wrong. We watch every game with the anticipation of a Tribe win, and no one hopes our prediction is wrong more than us.

It would be the ultimate thrill for the Indians to win the AL Central Division and bring home the first World Series title for this city since 1948.

That’s why it’s funny to read the reaction of some fans after this past weekend’s disaster in Chicago.

Thursday evening, Tribe fans were fired up after a three game sweep against the Tigers that gave Cleveland a 3-1/2 game lead over the White Sox and six games over Detroit. Heck, the Wahoos even beat defending Cy Young Award winner and league MVP Justin Verlander in the series finale.

Today, many of these same fans are wondering if the Indians will ever win another game.

Right now, the Indians rank 8th in the American League in runs scored, and 12th in team ERA. Not exactly the right combination for a team that wants to contend for a division title.

But that’s the beauty of baseball.

The 1987 Minnesota Twins were outscored on the season by their opponents, and arguably are the worst team to ever win the World Series. However, they still have the trophy, and Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, and Bert Blyleven all wear their championship rings proudly.

As for this weekend, it reminded us of a series in 1991 involving the Tribe and the Oakland A’s, then the defending AL champs. The Tribe scored 35 runs against them in consecutive games, with Chris James knocking in nine in one contest.

The Tribe finished that season 57-105, the worst in franchise history. As for the A’s, they won the next two games against Baltimore, allowing just three runs in both contests.

Remember that in baseball, momentum is today’s starting pitcher. If Josh Tomlin gives Manny Acta six solid innings today against Kansas City, the memory of White Sox hitters crossing the plate with frequency will soon fade.

If you want to worry, be concerned about the performance of Ubaldo Jimenez, who leads the league in walks, and can’t get hitters out away from Progressive Field. Worry about how the Indians have the statistics of a team who should be 22-25, not 26-21, because they’ve allowed 18 more runs than they’ve scored.

Question how the team has only five solid hitters in their lineup, when good teams have seven. Worry about the health of DH Travis Hafner, one of those five, whose loss would be significant even if he hasn’t been productive this month.

The left field spot has turned into a “vortex of suck” with Johnny Damon hitting .158 and Shelley Duncan batting .200. And fans can be concerned about a bench that has everyone with a batting average under the “Mendoza line”, except for Jose Lopez.

Series like the one over the weekend against Chicago happen to most teams in a given year. If the Indians can have a good week at home against the Royals and Twins, a week from now, it will be mostly erased from memory.

The Tribe doesn’t play the White Sox again until late September. A whole bunch of players could be changed by that point in time.

Tribe Offense Looks for Balance

A look at the American League leaders in offensive statistics, at least the traditional one, doesn’t show a lot of players who toil for the Indians.

Yes, Carlos Santana and Travis Hafner are in the top ten in walks received, and Asdrubal Cabrera is among the leaders in doubles and on base percentage, but by and large there aren’t many names among the lists.

For example, there are ten AL players who have driven in 30 runs this season. None wear a Cleveland uniform.

The Tribe ranks in the middle of the pack (8th) in the league in runs scored, so they can’t be considered to have a great offense or a poor one. The absence of a big bat probably is the reason for this ranking. Still, the Indians’ attack has gotten it done with balance.

With the season in between the quarter pole and the one-third mark, the Tribe has several players who are on pace to drive in between 80 and 90 runs this year. It’s that type of balanced attack that has kept the offense above water so far in 2012.

To date, Santana and Jason Kipnis have led the team in RBI’s with 24, with Hafner close behind at 23. Cabrera has driven home 20. All four players are on pace to collect more than 80 ribbies this season.

Jack Hannahan has knocked home 18 runners despite missing the last 10 games with a back problem. He likely would have more than 20 had he stayed healthy, although his career track would contradict maintaining this pace for an entire season.

The biggest problem for Manny Acta right now is that the guys in the middle of his lineup, Santana and Hafner, are not driving the ball. The three players leading the team in extra base hits are Cabrera with 19, followed by both Shin-Soo Choo and Michael Brantley with 16.

Santana and Hafner have just 12 each.

Doubles have been the hit of choice for the three leaders, with each of them ranking in the AL’s top ten in that category. If the middle of the order joined the extra base hit party, the Cleveland offense would be much improved.

One problem that has been quite evident of late is the lack of production from anyone off the bench, save for Jose Lopez.

While Lopez has been a huge bonus since returning from Columbus, going 12 for 39 (.308) with a home run (a game tying blast vs. Seattle) and seven runs batted in, the rest of the bench bunch has been impotent at the plate.

Backup catcher Lou Marson has been completely out of sync, with just three hits in 30 at bats (.100). Marson looks to be guiding his bat through the strike zone rather than swinging at the ball. Shelley Duncan has returned to being, well, Shelley Duncan, hitting just .200 in 95 at bats, striking out in one third of them.

Aaron Cunningham is the only back up CF, and that’s why he remains on the roster despite batting just .192 with a 519 OPS.

It’s a chicken or the egg thing. The bench probably needs more playing time to hit better and stay sharp, but it’s tough for Acta to take out one of his regulars for a player who can’t hit, especially when the number of good hitters in the lineup is short.

The bottom of the usual Tribe lineup has 1B Casey Kotchman (.216) and LF Johnny Damon (.162), two guys who a struggling. Why add a third or fourth poor hitter if you don’t have to?

It’s another thing that GM Chris Antonetti may have to address sooner than later. Until then, or until Santana and Hafner can turn singles into doubles and home runs, Acta will have to hope the balanced attack continues to provide enough runs to get a lead and turn games over to the bullpen.

Choo Looks Good at Top of Order

Sometimes, fans over think the importance of a manager to a baseball teams. Many baseball experts figure the difference between a top-notch skipper and a guy who doesn’t know what he’s doing is about five games.

It basically comes down to the talent a particular team has.

A little over a week ago, Indians’ manager Manny Acta decided to shuffle his batting order and put Shin-Soo Choo in the lead-off spot.

Right now, the initial returns have been extremely positive. Choo looks like a different hitter than he was in April and early May.

The right fielder has thrived there, hitting .394 (13 for 33) since being moved there. He’s scored six runs, and last night, started rallies in three innings in which the Tribe scored.

Perhaps Choo felt a need to drive the ball when hitting in the middle of the order because since moving to the top, he’s been hitting the ball where it is pitched more often, and as a result his batting average is climbing.

When you think about it, he’s a logical choice to hit lead-off, probably more so than Grady Sizemore, who Tribe managers have put first in the batting order for many years, and Michael Brantley, who looks like he should be a lead-off man, but doesn’t have the numbers to support it.

You see, Shin-Soo Choo has a lifetime on base percentage of .384. The man gets on base frequently, which is the primary goal at the top of the order. He also can run a little bit too, with two 20 stolen base seasons on his resume. Brantley stole a career high (yes, Choo’s been around longer) 13 bases last season.

His ability to get on base ahead of Jason Kipnis and Asdrubal Cabrera has helped spice up an offense in need of a spark.

Which brings us to a growing concern, DH Travis Hafner.

Yes, Hafner delivered in Tuesday’s 5-3 win over the Tigers, but the Indians need him to provide a power bat in the middle of the lineup, and at least this month, he has not put up many extra base hits.

He still has decent numbers (795 OPS), but that figure is arrived at because of a high on base percentage. Don’t get us wrong, not making outs is a good thing, but his slugging percentage is just .419, less than Jack Hannahan and about the same as Jason Kipnis, a middle infielder.

In 20 games in May, Pronk is hitting just .191 and slugging just .382 with only six extra base hits. Just for point of reference, that’s the same number as Casey Kotchman, and less than Asdrubal Cabrera, Choo, and Kipnis. Jose Lopez has one less in 39 less at bats.

Carlos Santana is keeping his batting average up at .262, but he’s in Hafner’s situation as a player Acta needs to provide pop, yet he is only slugging .414 on the year, and also has just six extra base hits in May.

The Tribe doesn’t have too many players who can change a game in one swing of the bat, and the two guys who usually hit fourth and fifth in the order are hitting like guys who hit at the top of the order.

If Hafner and Santana can start belting out extra base hits, it doesn’t have to be home runs, doubles and triples will do, fans will see the Indians batting attack take a big step forward.

Somehow, we see Santana as more apt to oblige in this area, since Hafner’s slugging has declined in recent years, probably due to injury.

The Indians are getting runners on base, leading the league in walks, however, that statistic doesn’t do them any good if their big boppers aren’t driving them in.

Perez Should Have “Saved” His Comments

After saving Saturday’s 2-0 victory over the Miami Marlins, Indians’ closer Chris Perez decided to vent about being booed and the poor attendance at Tribe games this season.

This is one of those things you cannot mention even if it is true, just like telling your boss he’s treats people poorly.

There is little to be gained by making such comments.

There is some truth to what Perez said, the Indians are playing well right now and there is no question attendance has been disappointing.

However, crowds are starting to catch on and almost 30,000 showed up Friday and Saturday with the return of warmer weather to Cleveland.

So, not only should the reliever have kept his thoughts to himself, they were also ill-timed. It’s another case of someone with the Indians trying to put a wet blanket on fans’ enthusiasm.

As for the booing, Perez should understand a couple of things: First, it’s just a handful of people vocalizing the negativity. The majority of fans don’t boo as a general rule.

Secondly, fans aren’t usually booing the player. They are criticizing the manager for making the decision to put the player in that position. No one is expecting Perez to understand this, but more than likely that’s what the jeers were about.

Fans know that Perez’ history is that he doesn’t pitch as well in tie games as he does when he’s protecting a lead. Yet, Manny Acta brought him in anyway, that’s what the fans were upset about.

(By the way, there should be no issue with bringing the closer in at home, there can’t be a save situation).

The fact is Cleveland fans have sat through eight losing seasons in the last ten years. No matter how well the Tribe has played this season (in only a quarter of the season), fans haven’t experienced sustained winning (if you call sustained two straight winning years) since 2001.

Also, last year’s team started even better than the 2012 Indians, getting off to a 30-15 start, yet finished under .500 for the season.

So forgive the team’s supporters when they look at this year’s ballclub with a jaundiced eye.

It would have been understandable if Perez had made his comments following Thursday game in which he was booed, but to wait until he strikes out the side two days later, and then spout off, well, he lost the higher ground on this argument.

Remember that the closer has been known to speak off the cuff. He criticized an opponent in his first season as closer because they had the audacity to win by bunting in a situation that Perez didn’t deem appropriate.

After another blown save, he criticized his catcher for allowing a passed ball.

Since then, Perez appeared to have matured until his comments on Saturday. But he threw himself under the bus.

As for his comments about people not wanting to play in Cleveland, the same things were said in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. Why? Because the Indians were a losing organization.

Over the last decade, they have returned to that status.

Ask the players who wore the Cleveland uniform from 1990-2001 if they enjoyed their time here. Guys like Kenny Lofton, Jim Thome, Albert Belle, Orel Hershiser, etc. loved it here and are loved back in return.

The fans love them because they won.

Fans want to have that same feeling about Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo, Jason Kipnis, etc., but they feel the players are short-term here, and management can’t afford to keep them.

Chris Perez doesn’t understand that, and that’s his prerogative. He’s a ball player.

He still should have kept his mouth shut. Nothing good can be gained by criticizing the people who buy tickets.

The Damon Question

When the Indians brought Johnny Damon to the major leagues on May 1st, it was done without the benefit of having the veteran play any minor league games.

He did play some games in extended spring training, but the pitchers down there are mostly guys who haven’t been assigned to minor league teams, or those rehabbing injuries.

There is no question the quality of pitching would have been better in Columbus or Akron.

However, the terms of the contract Damon agreed to had a clause that he had to be on the big league roster on May 1st, so he was activated.

To date, the results haven’t been positive.

He has played 12 games thus far, and he’s batting .149 with an OPS of 419. Just to clarify, no one survives long in the majors with that low of a figure in that category.

There is no question that Damon hasn’t hit his stride yet, because it is unlikely that a player could lose it this quick. At 37 years old last season, he still batted .261 with a 743 OPS.

Yesterday, Indians’ manager Manny Acta dropped the veteran from the top of the order and had him batting 7th. With his offense struggling, the skipper needed someone getting on base at the top of the order.

He’s not striking out excessively (only six thus far), but he does seem to be popping a lot of balls up, meaning he needs to get on top of the ball better.

Unfortunately, at this point in his career, if Damon doesn’t contribute with the bat, he can’t be in the lineup because defensively, he no longer is average.

His range has been cut down because he is older, and his arm has never been any good. And right now, he’s not making a case that he is the answer to the Tribe’s LF question.

The problem is the Indians are in first place and have a big series against the Tigers, the defending AL Central Division champs next week. So, how long can they wait for Damon to get it going?

The 50 plate appearances he’s received thus far isn’t a large enough sample. Most major league hitters have periods where they go through this type of slump during the season.

For example, right now, Travis Hafner has gone 9 for 46 since the first of May, and Shin-Soo Choo went through a 5 for 31 stretch earlier this season.

Nobody is counting them out as guys needed to have a big year for the Indians to be successful.

Unfortunately for Damon, when you are 38 years old, hitting slumps are magnified. Another problem is that the Tribe isn’t exactly an offensive juggernaut, and they can’t afford to have The Caveman struggling while others in the lineup are doing the same.

In terms of a roster spot, there is no pressure to do anything with Damon until Grady Sizemore is ready to come back to the active roster. As for playing time, the next five games will be a guide for Acta as to whether or not he can play him against Detroit.

It’s probably not fair to a guy who’s been in the big leagues since 1995, but who said baseball is fair.

For a team that needs hitting, the Tribe can’t afford to wait on Johnny Damon much longer.

Tribe Bats Being “Left” Out

Coming into this season, the Cleveland Indians went against conventional wisdom, and went with a predominantly left-handed hitting lineup. The organization had two reasons to support this move.

First, their research showed that left-handed hitters did better in Progressive Field that those who hit from the right side. Although it didn’t bother Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez, Matt Williams and several other right-handed hitters who had big years in Cleveland’s home park.

The other reason was that many of the hitters were good hitters, and good hitters can hit any kind of pitching.

Thus far, however, the Tribe has had all sorts of problems vs. southpaws, hitting just .217 against them as a team.

To be fair, some of those lefties are simply good pitchers. John Danks of the White Sox comes to mind. He’s a solid big league starter who has had ERA’s under 4.00 in three of the last four seasons.

Still, that .217 average just means that the Indians will likely see more southpaws as starters, and they will see a lot of situational lefties coming out of opponent’s bullpens until they start having some sort of success.

When right-handers take the mound against Cleveland, they usually see a lineup of entirely left-handed sticks. This has paid dividends as in the past couple of weeks, the Tribe has beaten pitchers such as Colby Lewis and Yu Darvish of Texas, and Josh Beckett of Boston.

But when a lefty goes, manager Manny Acta usually adds a couple of right-handed hitters to switch hitters Carlos Santana and Asdrubal Cabrera to try to balance the lineup, but so far it hasn’t worked.

One reason is that a couple of the righty bats put into the lineup haven’t hit. C Lou Marson gets the bulk of his limited playing time when a lefty takes the hill, but thus far he is 1 for 10. Jason Donald hit lefties very well last season, hitting .377 against them, but thus far he just 2 for 21, and yesterday was sent down to Columbus in favor of Jose Lopez.

That move costs the Tribe a legitimate backup shortstop, as now Jack Hannahan assumes the role.

Shin-Soo Choo, a lifetime .258 batter against southpaws is just 4 for 36 this season. Travis Hafner is looking more and more like a strict platoon player at this point in his career, batting just .156 in 32 at bats.

The only players batting over .250 against left-handers are Cabrera, Santana, Shelley Duncan (who should be Hafner’s platoon partner), and Michael Brantley. After those guys, the next best batting average is Jason Kipnis at .218.

This is exhibit A is why GM Chris Antonetti should have signed or traded for a right-handed hitter in the off-season. Someone like Josh Willingham, currently hitting .313 with 7 homers for Minnesota.

Because right now, left-handed pitchers are sticking it to the Cleveland Indians.

It is understandable that fans do not want to hear that Aaron Cunningham, Lopez, and Marson need to be in there against southpaws on a regular basis, and that they probably need to be given more at bats periodically because they haven’t been able to stay fresh. However, Acta needs to get some production against lefties.

Players like Choo and even Hannahan have had better numbers against lefties in the past and probably deserve continued plate appearances because of this season’s small sample size.

However, the Indians need to start getting some better efforts against southpaws otherwise we will see more performances like the one Saturday night against a nondescript Felix Doubrait.

If they are going to contend, they have to improve or Antonetti will be forced to find a right-handed bat, a weakness that has plagued the Indians for several years.

Tribe Pitchers are Walking Too

One of the early season surprises for the Cleveland Indians is their propensity for taking walks.

In fact, Tribe hitters have taken 21 more walks than any other team in the American League, a key reason they are 3rd in the league in on base percentage, despite ranking 9th in batting average.

The base on balls has definitely been a key component of their offense so far in 2012.

Unfortunately, it has worked both way for the Indians, as their pitching staff has allowed the second most free passes in the AL.

What makes it worse is that Cleveland pitchers also rank 12th in the junior circuit in striking out hitters, which gives them the worst strikeout to walk ratio in the league.

And the main culprits in dishing out bases on balls are the starting pitchers. The relievers are generally doing a good job.

The most obvious bad thing about the walks is that it puts a runner on base. Of course, there are times that it is a strategic move, but mostly it allows a hitter to reach base without having to swing the bat.

The hidden problem with the walks is that it requires hurlers to throw more pitches, which runs up pitch counts, and doesn’t allow them to get deeper into games.

This puts more of a burden on the bullpen, which has thrown the 4th most innings in the league. The Tribe relief corps has been very good, perhaps even the strength of the team, but history tells us than putting a burden on relievers early in the year sometimes comes back to bite a team in the behind.

Check out the strikeout to walk ratio of the Cleveland starters:

Justin Masterson 29K’s/25 BBs
Ubaldo Jimenez    20K’s/25 BBs
Derek Lowe             10K’s/12 BBs
Josh Tomlin            27K’s/ 7 BBs
Jeanmar Gomez     15K’s/ 4 BBs

As you can see, it is the veteran pitchers who right now are having problems finding the strike zone.

The only bullpen pitcher having issues with walking hitters is the much maligned Dan Wheeler, who has walked five against just two strikeouts.

Granted, the Indians don’t have a lot of strikeout pitchers in the starting rotation. Masterson and Lowe are sinkerballers, and Tomlin usually gets the job done by getting ahead in the count and expanding the strike zone.

He doesn’t have typical swing and miss stuff despite ranking second among the starters in strikeouts.

Jimenez is most definitely a power pitcher, and Gomez’ new found slider is developing into a swing and miss offering.

Acta and pitching coach Scott Radinsky both stress the importance in getting ahead in the count. Other baseball experts will tell you the best pitch in the game is strike one. Right now, some of the Tribe starters are having a problem throwing that pitch.

There is no doubt that Acta is concerned about the wear and tear on his bullpen. He kept Chris Perez and Vinnie Pestano out of Monday’s doubleheader, and he said Pestano wasn’t available last night.

Those two and sidearmer Joe Smith have been in too large of a percentage of the Indians’ games.

A lot of that is because the Tribe plays a lot of close games, and those three are the skipper’s most reliable guys, although rookie Nick Hagadone is starting to earn Acta’s trust.

However, any success the Indians will have this season is predicated on the starters giving the team innings, and they can stay in games longer if they throw strikes.

As much as taking walks helps the Cleveland Indians, giving up too many has to be a concern.

A First Analysis of the Tribe

The Indians’ front office will disagree with evaluating the team at this time, but after the first game of today’s doubleheader against the White Sox, the Tribe has played 27 games, or one-sixth of the schedule.

The standings say the Indians are in first place in the AL Central Division with a two game lead over the Tigers.

Although many locally are quick to proclaim Cleveland contenders, it is too early to make that claim. You can’t win the division in April, but you can lose it, and the Indians have played well and are still in it after the first month.

Before you start ordering playoff tickets, remember that the team with the best record in the AL is the Baltimore Orioles, and no one thinks they can win the Eastern Division.

At this point, the Tribe ranks 8th in the league in runs scored, and 9th in the AL in ERA, ranking virtually in the middle of both categories.

Those numbers seem to say that Cleveland is a .500 type team. Their runs scored vs. runs allowed say their record should be 13-13, so they have been a little lucky so far.

This is reflected in their mark in games decided by one run, which is 6-1. Success in these games is not indicative of a good or great team. The ’10 Orioles were 29-22 in these games, yet finished 66-96.

Still, teams with good bullpens and average offenses play a lot of close games, and can win them by holding opponents from adding on. Heck, it’s better to win them than to lose them.

Going back to runs scored vs. runs allowed, it is clear that to be a contender, the Indians will have to improve in both areas.

Offensively, Manny Acta is still looking for at least one more productive hitter. Perhaps it can be Johnny Damon or Michael Brantley, but based on the past, you have to feel 3B Jack Hannahan’s numbers will regress at least a bit.

The biggest concern should be 1B Casey Kotchman, who is hitting .163 with a 506 OPS at this point. If Kotchman went 10 for his next 20, he’d still be hitting .230, which doesn’t cut it if you want to contend.

And let us repeat: No matter who good he is defensively, it doesn’t make up for being non-productive with the bat.

It is doubtful the Indians want to bring up Matt LaPorta from Columbus, so perhaps Shelley Duncan will get some reps at first, or maybe Lonnie Chisenhall gets a call (when he’s healthy again) with Hannahan moving to 1B.

As for the pitching, we detailed last week how important Ubaldo Jimenez is to this ballclub winning. Hopefully, he turned the corner after yesterday’s great performance against the Rangers, but until he shows that kind of pitching regularly, he’s still a question mark.

Josh Tomlin is another starter who need to throw like he did in the first half of last year. He’s had five outings, including one in relief, but only one could be considered good (8 IP, 1 ER vs. Seattle).

He and Jimenez need to get deeper into games, in order to take a burden off the relief corps, which has been overworked thus far.

If the bullpen collapses later in the year because of overuse, it could be devastating. The Indians do have some relief depth in the minors in guys like C.C. Lee and rapidly rising Cody Allen, and southpaw Nick Hagadone is already here, but losing games late can be a tough thing to overcome.

So, what can be decided about the 2012 Indians? They are still in it! They haven’t played their way out of contention, but they do have areas they need to shore up.

After another 27 games, the picture could get a little clearer.